Huntsville, Alabama (November 23, 2009)
– A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement
Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®), will arrive December 5, 2009 to examine all aspects of
the Huntsville Police Department’s policies and procedures, management,
operations, and support services areas, Chief Henry Reyes announced today.

Verification by the team that the Huntsville
Police Department meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a
voluntary process to gain accreditation - a highly prized recognition of public
safety professional excellence, he said.

As part of the on-site assessment, agency
employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public
information session Monday December 7, 2009 at 7:00 PM. The session will be
conducted in the Huntsville City Council Chambers located at 308 Fountain
Circle.

If for some reason an individual cannot speak at
the public information session, but would still like to provide comments to the
assessment team, he/she may do so by telephone. The public may call
256-427-7152 on Monday December 7, 2009 between the hours of 3:00 PM and 5:00
PM.

Telephone comments as well as appearances at the
public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the
agency’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards. A copy of the Standards is
available at the 815 Wheeler Avenue. Local contact is Captain Vince Dauro,
256-427-5652.

The Huntsville Police Department has to comply
with 463 standards in order to gain accredited status, Chief Reyes said. We are
very proud to be undergoing our 4th re-accreditation process. There
are only three Municipal Police Department and three University Police
Departments accredited in the State of Alabama. They are Huntsville, Birmingham
and Mobile, University of Alabama in Birmingham, University of Alabama in
Tuscaloosa and Jacksonville State University. Therefore, we are in a very small
group of accredited agencies which speaks volumes for the professionalism of the
Huntsville Police Department.

The CALEA Program Manager for the Huntsville
Police Department is Program Manager Karen Shepard. She said the assessment
team is composed of public safety practitioners from similar, but out-of-state
agencies. The assessors will review written materials, interview individuals,
and visit offices and other locations where compliance can be witnessed.

The assessors are:

Team Leader,

Superintendent Susan Maycock

Peel Regional Police, Brampton, Ontario; Canada

Team member,

Lieutenant Jeffrey Wagner

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office

Rochester, New York

Once the CALEA Assessors complete their review
of the agency, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide
if the agency is to be granted accredited status, Program Manager Karen Shepard
stated.

Accreditation is for three years, during which
the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those
standards under which it was initially accredited.

For more information regarding the Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. please write the Commission at
10302 Eaton Place, Suite 100, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030-2215; or call (800)
368-3757 or (703) 352-4225 or email calea@calea.org.